Valerie King (22 page)

Now as he watched Hetty and Lucy together, his thoughts drifted to the moment over a sennight past when he had awakened and found himself holding Lucy in his arms. He had never been more shocked. Since that time he had been trying very hard to understand his relationship with her. More than once he had mentally drawn up two separate lists, one that contained her fine qualities and the other consisting of all those ways he essentially disapproved of her. Yet what was there to disapprove of in a young woman who had so completely changed his home, his life, his family, and all for the better?

Back and forth his internal arguments drifted, but as he watched Lucy now walking toward the house arm in arm with Hetty all he could think was that he wanted nothing more than to wake up with Lucy in his arms every morning of his life.

The day before the ball, Lucy waited outside the ballroom with Lord Valmaston as well as the entire Sandifort family. Only Miss Gunville was absent. Anne and Alice had been decorating in great secrecy both the ballroom and the morning room for several days and only now were ready to reveal their efforts.

The children were fairly leaping in their excitement.

Finally the twins opened the doors.

Lucy found herself stunned by what the young ladies had been able to achieve. An enormous quantity of dark blue silk had been draped along the upper two feet of wall and caught up in festoons made of branches of fresh yew, an abundance of artificial pink flowers, and ribbons in myriad colors. In addition, Mr. Quarley had allowed several of his enormous potted palms as well as pots of flowers, ferns, and ivy to be used to fill each corner of the long chamber.

“How beautiful!” Lucy cried. “I can just imagine how extraordinary the chamber will appear when each of these chandeliers is ablaze with scores of lit candles!”

“Even the orchestra’s balcony has a garland of yew and roses,” Hetty said from behind her.

Lucy glanced up and smiled at the superb decorations. “Truly remarkable.”

Hyacinth and Violet were twirling in circles on the ballroom floor. William’s shoes could be heard clunking up the spiral staircase that led to the musician’s gallery.

“There is more,” Alice said, smiling broadly. She was standing by the door opposite that led into the morning room. The party trailed behind her into what proved to be a spectacle of freshly cut flowers from Mr. Quarley’s cutting garden.

Violet cried, “It looks like a fairyland.”

“It does,” Hyacinth added.

Movement from the corner of Lucy’s eye led her to watch as Lord Valmaston and Hetty emerged slowly from the ballroom. They were surprisingly deep in conversation, which lasted for several minutes until Hyacinth ran up to Hetty, took her hand, and led her to view the enormous bouquet on the table by the wall. Lucy believed she saw the future in the making but hid such a newly birthed hope deep within her heart.

Only then did she chance to glance at the doorway of the ballroom and saw, much to her horror, that Lady Sandifort had also seen enough to arouse her suspicions yet again. “Miss Gunville,” she snapped, “I do believe the children should return to the schoolroom.”

“Yes, of course,” Miss Gunville responded crisply. She did not allow even one moan of disappointment to escape the children’s lips, but ushered them quickly from the room.

Lucy felt as though a dark cloud had entered the morning room. No one spoke, not a single word.

Lady Sandifort addressed the earl. “My lord,” she said sweetly, “I was hoping to engage you in a game of chess.”

Lord Valmaston did not hesitate. “I should be delighted.” Wisely he refrained from even looking at Hetty, but rather crossed to Lady Sandifort, offered his arm, and escorted her from the chamber.

Once they were gone, Lucy let out a great puff of air she did not even know she was holding. She felt dizzy suddenly. What would happen next? she wondered.

Late that night, Lucy stood on the terrace long after the others had retired. A soft summer breeze blew over the garden and because the moon was high she was able to see a great portion of the flower beds. How much had changed since she arrived at Aldershaw. The estate was looking prettier every day under Mr. Quarley’s excellent guidance and tomorrow Anne and Alice would enjoy a come-out ball that had previously been forbidden them.

In the distance, to the west of the maze, a shadow moved.

Her first thought was that she was seeing a wind-blown branch from one of the beech trees, but the shadow moved steadily toward the house.

She squinted, trying to determine who it was. She wondered for a moment if she ought to raise an alarm, but she rather thought the figure could be any one of three gentlemen who might have preferred a stroll before bed.

In the end, the dark shadow proved to be Robert. He even waved to her halfway to the terrace. She waved in return and almost chose to retire before he reached her but that seemed quite uncivil, so she remained.

“The night is very beautiful,” he said, joining her on the terrace.

“Indeed, very,” she responded. “I had thought everyone had long since sought their beds.”

“I decided to take a little brandy to Mr. Frome, for I know he enjoys it. We fell into a conversation and time escaped me. I suppose it is near midnight.”

“Yes, it is. I shall miss him.”

“We all will. When I said good night to the children, Violet wept into my shoulder. She said Tom would especially be sad to see him go.”

“Dear Violet,” she murmured.

“And what are you doing at this late hour?” he asked.

“Looking at the moon, watching the stars, admiring Mr. Quarley’s handiwork. He is quite gifted, you know.”

“Yes,” he said, keeping his voice low for their conversation, which if too loud would certainly disturb a number of the family members through the bank of windows above them. “Quarley has been at Aldershaw forever. Have I thanked you for your help with the gardens?”

“Only a dozen times,” she said, chuckling.

There was a considerable pause and Lucy sensed that Robert wished to say something to her.

She was not surprised when he cleared his throat and began, “I was hoping you might save a waltz for me. I would ask you for the first or even second dances but I am already given to my sisters.”

“As you should be,” she said, turning toward him. “You really wish to dance with me?”

“Lucy,” he said rather abruptly. “I fear very much that were we to fall into conversation we would simply begin brangling. So I will ask again, will you save me the first waltz? Although, I wish to add,” and here he touched her arm gently, “I am trying to comprehend my heart.”

Lucy felt his words deeply. How her heart began to thrum. She knew a strong impulse to say several things to him, but couldn’t because they all became jumbled in her mind. “Yes, of course,” she responded. Before she could say anything more, he bid her good night and was gone.

Lucy sought her bed and fell quickly into a dreamy sleep. She was certain she had just laid her head on her pillow when shouting beneath her window roused her. She could see by the moon’s progress across the sky, however, that perhaps only an hour or two had passed.

She went to the window and, opening it quietly, peeked her head out. Lady Sandifort was having a fit of hysterics as she moved briskly to and fro in front of Lord Valmaston.

“Do hush, Lady Sandifort, or you will awaken the entire house,” he urged her in a low tone.

“I do not care if the servants, to the last maid, hear what I have to say. I think you a vile creature, keeping me dangling and all the while never having the smallest intention of . . . of . . .”

“You are a horrid, selfish female and I only wonder that you have not driven the entire family into the madhouse!”

Lucy clamped a hand over her mouth. How many times had she wished to utter such words! How grateful she was that at last Lady Sandifort was receiving something of her due. On the other hand, she shuddered, for she understood to perfection just what sort of temper her ladyship would exhibit once the sun rose. Her vanity had been severely wounded by Valmaston’s obvious rejection of her. However, he added an insult to this horrible injury by calling her a selfish female. Lucy knew quite well that Lady Sandifort saw herself as a loving, restrained, generous individual who was always being ill-used by everyone around her.

“I despise you!” Lady Sandifort cried, then stomped in the direction of the house. “I wish you every manner of evil.”

Lucy withdrew into the shadows of the drapes lest she be seen and afterward gently closed the window. Climbing back into bed, she knew but one thing for certain: there would be the devil to pay in the morning.

Regardless, the moment her head touched the pillow anew, she fell into a very deep sleep until shouting, this time of an entirely different nature, awoke her.

She sat straight up in bed, wondering if she had heard correctly. She listened very hard. Yes, there it was!

“Fire!”

Lucy bolted from her bed and much to her surprise saw that sunlight streamed into her chamber. It was much later than she had supposed.

She scrambled into her robe and, regardless of her appearance, raced from her bedchamber. In the distance, Anne and Alice had just reached the landing of the stairs at the west end of the house, sleepy-eyed and sporting mobcaps.

Lucy descended the east staircase and a moment later followed Anne and Alice down the central staircase from the first floor to the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairs, servants raced to and fro, all carrying either empty buckets in one direction or buckets sloshing with water in the other.

Henry was stationed in the entrance hall, his complexion pale. Anne and Alice were both clinging to him and weeping. He caught her gaze. “It is the ballroom and, I fear, the morning room.”

“Ablaze?” Lucy inquired, much shocked.

He nodded. “Yes, but I believe the fire will not spread.”

Lucy thought of Lady Sandifort and shuddered. Would she have done this?

Robert was in his shirtsleeves when he descended the stairs. In tow were the youngest Sandiforts. He held Violet in his right arm while shepherding Hyacinth and William before him. Hetty followed, also wearing a robe over her nightdress.

“What is going forward?” she asked.

Henry repeated the wretched news. Hyacinth looked up at her eldest brother, “Will there not be a ball for Anne and Alice?”

Robert held her close to his side. “I do not know, dearest, but right now our greatest concern is that everyone is safe.”

Hyacinth looked around. “Where is Mama?”

Lord Valmaston arrived at the top of the stairs and searched the group. “I see everyone is present save for Lady Sandifort. Does anyone know where she is?” He was dressed in riding gear and walked briskly down the stairs.

“We have not seen her,” Lucy said. “What of you, Henry? Was she about before I descended the stairs?”

He shook his head.

As several servants hurried by, Robert said, “Let us all move into the garden. We will be safe there and out of the way of the staff.”

The party filed out, moving first onto the terrace and then down the three steps to the lawn. Robert, Henry, and Valmaston agreed to see if they might be of use in the ballroom as well as discover the location of Lady Sandifort.

Once they were gone, Anne began to weep. “I suppose there cannot be a ball now. Hyacinth was right.”

“Where is Mama?” Violet asked this time.

Lucy exchanged a meaningful glance with Hetty. She suspected they shared the same thought. Movement caught Hetty’s eye and she whispered to Lucy, “Do but look.”

Lucy glanced up at the window. Lady Sandifort’s rooms were as far from the ballroom as any in the house. She was presently waving to them and smiling all the while.

“There she is, Violet!” William cried.

Lady Sandifort opened the window. “Is there really a fire? I thought Henry was funning, for I heard him earlier but did not believe him.”

“Yes, Mama,” Hyacinth cried. “In the ballroom.”

“How dreadful,” she said, clucking her tongue and shaking her head. There was nothing of real concern in her expression. “Well, I suppose I ought to join you. I will be down in a moment.”

In the end, the fire was put out quickly so that neither blaze had affected any other room in the house. However, the damage to both rooms was truly horrendous. Everyone took turns viewing the results of the fire. Several of the decorations were charred badly. None of the adults spoke of the possible origin of the fire. There did not seem to be the smallest doubt as to how such a tragedy had occurred. Unfortunately, though the damage from the fire itself was fairly minimal, the greater destruction was caused by the ensuing smoke and water. The result was a sodden, black mess that smelled utterly wretched.

Though Alice was not deeply affected by the certainty that there would be no come-out ball after all, her sister was in near hysterics after seeing the once beautiful chambers. Alice and Hetty took Anne from the room, but in her distress she cried out several times, “She did this! She never wanted me to have a ball! She did this to me!”

Lord Valmaston drew close to Lucy. “I fear this is my fault. I believe I have failed you all.”

Lucy could only shake her head at him. She led him across the back entrance hall and into the armory. “I have a confession,” she whispered. “I heard you quarreling with Lady Sandifort last night. You happened to be doing so beneath my window.”

“Indeed? Then I do apologize.”

“It hardly matters. With that said, I wish to assure you that I had no intention of your surpassing the dictates of your conscience where she was concerned—”

He lifted a brow.

“And yes, I know quite well that you have a conscience, a very proper one. However, I believe I may have underestimated just how low her ladyship would sink in attempting to gain your favor.”

He shrugged. “I beg you will not believe there was any great chivalry on my part. Had I been younger, a great deal younger, I would have been unable to resist her . . . lures.”

“Even as heavy-handed as they were.”

“Quite.” He laughed and withdrew his snuffbox from the pocket of his coat. He took a pinch and inhaled deeply. “Although, I must say, I am not at all regretful at having agreed to come to Aldershaw.”

“No,” she observed dryly, “I dare say you are not.”

He met her gaze fully. “Do I have even the smallest hope?”

This time Lucy shrugged. “I have not the faintest notion, but if you do achieve your object I can promise you that to whatever lengths you go to win her heart, she will be well worth even the most determined pursuit.”

“She is a darling.”

“She is an innocent.”

“Yes, and I so undeserving.”

“Then you must become deserving.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “And is there something you have in mind?”

Lucy smiled. “Look out the window. Tell me what you see.”

“A beautiful garden.”

“You know, I truly despise the thought of Anne and Alice having to forego their ball.”

He glanced at her sharply and then he smiled, quite broadly. “I have an idea.”

“I believe you do and I think we should share it with Robert at once and then of course, Hetty!”

Valmaston laughed. “You know, you would do well in Parliament, I think.”

A few minutes later, after having spoken with Robert and received his approval for their scheme, both Lucy and Valmaston scratched lightly on Anne’s door. Hetty met them but would not permit them to enter.

She whispered, “Anne cannot receive anyone. She is greatly overset, as you may well imagine.”

Lucy nudged the earl.

He said, “We have good news, Hetty. It involves the come-out ball.”

Hetty frowned. “Indeed? Whatever do you mean?”

“Well, what do you say to having the ball in the garden?”

“The garden,” she stated. “Yes, of course! The garden! What an excellent notion. Was this your idea, my lord?” How bright, how hopeful the expression in her eye.

He hesitated. “Only in part,” he said at last. He then inclined his head to Lucy. “I believe I may have been given a hint in that direction, but I do believe the notion has merit. It can be done.”

“Even with dancing?”

He nodded. “Even with dancing.”

“Well . . . well, it is very kind of you. Very kind, indeed!” Hetty appeared rather breathless.

For his part, Valmaston fell silent. He stared at her, apparently unable to speak. Only then did Lucy realize just how smitten he truly was.

Hetty extended a hand to him. “Anne will be so happy!” He took her hand and kissed her fingers. Lucy heard Hetty’s breath catch.

Composing himself, he said, “Pray tell her at once so that she may be made comfortable.”

“Of course.”

When Lucy walked with Valmaston down the hall, she nudged him again and laughed.

He laughed as well. “I am enslaved,” he cried. “She has enslaved me.”

“If that is so, then you could not have found a better master!”